Writing – Dan Steven Erickson

Life Back on a 40-Hour Work Week

Acadia National Park – Photos by Dan Steven Erickson

I’m going to be honest. I’ve only worked 40-hour work weeks for about 3 years of my entire adult life. That’s right, I mostly worked part-time jobs in my teens and twenties. Then I went back to school in my 30s. Then I became a full-time college professor and worked about 30 hours most weeks.

It wasn’t until my stint with the USPS, advising at VolState, and now Cabela’s in the past two years that I’ve really worked 40-hours a week. Of course, if you go back to my childhood in a cult, I was working 60-hour weeks as a boy. I’ve done a lot of hard work in my life and I’m not afraid of it.

However, I’m a creative. And one reason I have been able to create such a mass of work in my life is that I’ve had the time to do that. My current situation allows me less time than I’ve had for creating than I’ve had in years. Not only am I working 40 hours a week, I have to drive 45 minutes each way. There’s another 8 hours taken up each week. Add things like shopping, doctors, and working on the condo and it creates a time squeeze.

Why did I take on a full-time job at 63?

That’s a good question. The answer is simple: for health benefits. I’m beginning to question if the time I have to put in to receive the benefits is worth it. There is also a secondary reason. I’m holding off on using my retirement savings a bit longer. And finally, I stay moving and active and social. These are all good reasons to work full time but until I’m 65? That’s something I am reconsidering.

This year I am able to work without my social security being tapped into. Next year I won’t be able to do that if I work full time the entire year. So, I’m considering moving back into part-time status part way through 2027. If I keep my income low by avoiding any major withdrawals from retirement I will be eligible for a healthcare plan at an affordable rate. I could continue working part time and maybe teach an adjunct class. Then again, who knows, maybe life will take another unexpected twist.

In the meantime…

I’ll keep creating. The process to complete projects is just taking longer. Although my studio room is mostly complete, I still need to update my audio. And even though I’m writing several lyrics a week, I have not yet been able to really focus on finalizing songs. I have been workshopping a “sound” for the songs but nothing is complete.

I’ll keep taking time outdoors and doing active things. Last week, I went to Acadia National Park. I’ll post more photos below. I spend quite a bit of the off-time I do get enjoying nature and trying to get in some exercise. That leaves me with even less time to create. It’s a bit ironic that the time when I’m supposed to have more time (after “retirement”) is actually one of the fullest schedules I’ve had in years.

Bear with me as I move through this chapter. My hope is that I’ll be able to get into the swing of getting some creative projects completed on the side if even at a slower pace. I will continue to produce work, it’s just a matter of time. – dse

The Maine Story: How I got Here and Came Back Again

It’s been a while since I’ve posted here. I’ve been busy moving… again.

I’m officially back in Maine. But how did I wind up in Maine in the first place. There’s a story, and I think it’s time that I share it here.

The Beginning

First, I have roots in Maine. I was born in Rochester, New Hampshire, just across the Maine border. My father’s family goes back generations in New Hampshire. My mother’s family goes back generations in Maine. I lived in Maine during my early school years. But at the age of 10, my family moved across the country to Washington State to join a cult. You can learn more about that in my books:

The First Return

I’m going to share something I’ve never shared here. I’ve hinted to it, but I think the time is right to go into more detail.

During COVID, my daughter got caught up with the wrong crowd. This led to a substance abuse issue and eventually led to extreme drug-induced psychosis. I’ll spare the details, but there were several trips to the emergency room and months of sleepless nights. I tried to get help for my daughter, but the local resources refused to help, even when I specifically requested they use the Washington State Family Initiated Treatment Act.

I also discovered who was dealing the substances to my daughter and helped to get the dealer arrested in July, 2022. He’s still out on bail with a trial set for early 2027.

So between the lack of help from the community, and the potential danger of retaliation from a drug dealer, I asked my employer for the option to work remotely from Maine. I figured Maine would be more secluded and would give my daughter a chance to dry out and start over. It worked, not perfectly, but my daughter finished high school, has two years of college completed, and has been successful in the service industry.

My employer permitted the move. The president, vice president, human resources director, and my direct supervisor all signed off on the emergency relocation paperwork in late 2022. That paperwork also included notice of my own blood cancer diagnosis and need for specialists and ongoing treatment.

The Ultimatum

I secured a second year of working from Maine using FMLA, or at least that is what I was told. But within a year of moving to Maine, starting in late 2023, my employer started telling me I would have to move back to Washington State or retire. It was an unfeasible choice as moving back to Washington would put my daughter right back into the danger of addiction and retaliation. I was pressured to resign with the promise of part-time work including health benefits.

In Maine, I tried my best to find full-time work in my field. But all I could find was part-time work at low wages. Keep in mind, my full-time employment in Washington was an $85,000 a year position with benefits, not something I wanted to give up, but felt I had no choice.

So, I broadened my scope and started applying for positions in the South and the Midwest. In November, 2024, I secured employment at Volunteer State Community College in Tennessee. I worked there a little over a year while I rented out my property in Maine.

The Second Return

With a plan to move back to Maine in April, 2026, I retired from VolState at the end of 2025. The heat in Tennessee wound up being very problematic for me as one of the primary symptoms of my blood cancer is heat intolerance. Due to a lease in Tennessee, and my rental contract in Maine, that move was slightly postponed. I was, however, able to spend a fair portion of the summer in Maine to escape the heat before finalizing the move this week.

Now, I am back in my modest condo and preparing to return to work at Cabela’s to stay physically and socially active, and acquire needed health insurance coverage until I turn 65 in 2028.

But none of this should have happened. I never should have been squeezed out of my job in Washington. This is especially true because another employee was able to continue her employment from a neighboring state to me. I was told, “that’s different.” There’s more to the story, but that’s all I’m going to say for now.

The good thing is that I’m back in Maine where I can tolerate the weather and where I am at a low elevation. My condition also requires low elevation to add protection from clots and strokes. If my former employer would have simply asked a few questions about my medical needs, they’d have known all of this. – dse

Preorder Cult Boy, the Novella

Cult Boy is now available to preorder as an eBook at Amazon with a release date of June 9.

Imagine being the victim of an extreme religious cult as a young boy. Dan Steven Erickson has written a raw and gut-wrenching novella about his own experience working as a slave for Ted Rinaldo, leader of “The Group” at Eden Farms in 1970’s Snohomish, Washington.

As 27-year-old Andy Burden, Dan Steven Erickson tells the story of extreme work, living conditions, and punishment in the cult, and how his actions helped to bring the cult to an end. The aftermath of his childhood experience left him traumatized and he struggles with paranoia and substance abuse as a young man. As a means of healing, he takes a train across the United States where he meets a cast of marginalized characters that help him more than any religious organization ever could. He discovers and struggles with the power of forgiveness tempered with the reality of his personal trauma. He writes the story while on his journey and then leaves it behind only to rediscover it.

At just under 30,000 words, this is fast-paced read that can be completed in a single session. – dse

Preorder Today

Current Projects in the Works

So, I’m still stuck in Tennessee, but I’m making fair use of my time. I have a few projects in the works. Here’s the nuts and bolts:

Cult Boy: I did a complete rewrite of my book A Train Called Forgiveness. It’s been stripped back to a novella and renamed. I’m currently doing a final edit and will proofread once more after that.
Mercy, Mercy: This is in brainstorming mode. A potential novella about living through having a stillborn child. The book would have two first-person narrators, the father, and the unborn/spirit daughter.
1995/96 Songs: I’ve posted selections from my older song catalog up until 1994 on my YouTube channel. I thought my 1995/96 songs were already in Maine but I found them here. I’ll start posting some tracks in May. I might have to rewrite a few because I can’t find any recordings.
Glitsch: My new website for brutalist and glitchy poetry and photos and music. Check it out at glitcsh.com.
Anderhill: I’ve got a few tracks in the works on my iPad.

That’s it for now. I’m staying busy creatively. But I’ll also need to do some travel and other projects in the near future. – dse

Rewrite

In 2023, I took a sabbatical from my teaching duties. The goal was to start the process of rewriting my cult-survival story. After taking a course on memoir writing and making the initial changes, I shied away from the project.

The rewrite I envisioned then wasn’t the right fit for my story. My goal was to get rid of any fictionalized parts, change fictional names to real names, people, places, etc. In a meeting with a memoir expert I decided it was all too much for too little return. She recommended in-depth research, interviews with former cult members, and a total rewrite, years of work.

Now I understand something. That is not what this story needs. It doesn’t need to be added to. It needs to be stripped back, reduced from a short novel to a mid-length novella. From over 40,000 words to under 30,000. Bare bones. And so the rewrite has begun.

The original book, A Train Called Forgiveness, was my first attempt at writing and publishing a book. I self-published and sold a modest amount of copies. It gets good reviews at Amazon. But as time passed, something has gnawed at me. Two things. First, the writing could be tighter. Second, there needs to be a thematic change. I’m not telling yet.

I’ve always loved minimalist writers and gritty writers. Cormac McCarthy and Denis Johnson come to mind. I love writers who make the process as much about editing as writing. Writers who painstakingly get rid of every unnecessary word, and then craft what remains into pure art. That’s the goal for the rewrite.

The new book will remain creative non-fiction, but many real names will be used. The title will change to Cult Boy. If you’d like to see the first chapter in progress, you can check it out on my new website, glitcsh.com. Beware, because it’s a work in progress, it might change from week to week as I hone in on the minimalist vibe I’m seeking. – dse

Introducing G L I T C . S H

What is G L I T C . S H? It’s a brutalist, minimalist, and glitchy poetry and photography site. It’s a place where I’ll focus on poetic creativity. Here’s a short quote from the manifesto:

I believe that ERROR is the only honest data left in a manicured system. My lyrics are not typos but rather the intentional ruptures of a soul that refuses to be domesticated by the algorithm.

G L I T C . S H_ may have a simple and classic presentation, but don’t let that fool you. My poetry intentionally makes use of symbols, numbers, errors, stutters, and more. My photography editing blatantly erases the world as we see it.

The site will have both long-form writing series’ and a Machine Feed (blogroll) of individual poems and photographs.

The first long-form work is called Pentad.

PENTAD is a five-cycle journey consisting of 86 short poems. The first and third cycles have several chapters while the others stand alone. Instead of endlessly scrolling on social media, I invite you to come along on this journey of thought and reflection.

I encourage you to check out the new site. I’ll be updating the Machine Feed a couple times a week, and adding new long-form writing every month or two. – dse

G L I T C . S H